Deep Enough
by Beau Lys
Summary: When Hermione creates an accidental potion, Dumbledore does the only thing he can he assigns Severus Snape, bastard extraordinaire, to supervise her experimental potions. What's a Potions Master to do? Please, be gentle it's my first time writing fanfic
1. Problems in the Castle

Chapter 1: Problems in the Castle

It is night. There is the sensation of being weightless, but soon, it subsides. You are flying toward a large castle, lit up to the brim. It is a golden, inviting light, and you would think that everyone would be happy, to give off such radiance. You, however, would be wrong.

Inside, we see a large room with four long tables, crowded with young witches and wizards. Everyone is eating, people are laughing, and after taking a drink of pumpkin juice, a young man we know as Neville Longbottom mysteriously turns into a canary. A childish man with red hair and freckles begins laughing hysterically. He suddenly turns to a beautiful young woman who visibly radiates confidence, bravery, and intelligence. He leans closer to her and whispers something that makes her eyebrows shoot up in surprise, then moves his hand from her shoulder to. . .well, a bit _lower_, shall we say. This comes as an obvious shock to her, and she jumps up, slaps him in the face, and runs out of the hall. Few people notice.

She runs to her dormitory and pulls out a cauldron. Throwing anything she can find into it, the mixture inside turns a foul, green color. Abruptly, there is a flash of green light, followed only seconds later by a small explosion. She runs away, leaving the mess and dashes into the darkened hallways.

"AAARGH! I HATE HIM!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Why is he such a magnificent example of a prat!" she yelled. "Can't he see that I don't like him anymore? What do I have to do to make that any clearer? Here, Hermione let me readjust your bra for you!" she said, mimicking his voice.

As she stomped around, she unknowingly wandered into parts of the castle that she had never been in. Not realizing she was lost, she continued to rant and rave. Finally, having run out of words, she stood stock still, and screamed at the top of her lungs; a wordless outpouring of all the emotions she has felt in the last six months. It is a horrible sound, almost like her soul is breaking and has been for a very long time. She fell to the floor and began sobbing uncontrollably, next to a suit of armor.

_**THE NEXT DAY**_

Hermione awoke to find herself back in her bed, with all of the other girls gone. She looked at the clock, and saw that she was late for her first class. Throwing herself out of bed, she looked at the door to her dormitory, and made out a flash of gold light. Letters began forming, and Hermione soon recognized the handwriting, for it was the same as on the note that Harry had received his father's invisibility cloak with.

_Hermione-_

_Mr. Filch found you last night in the seventh floor east hall, and brought you to me. Do not trouble yourself with classes today; I am well aware you could afford to miss them. When you wake, please get ready and come to my office. Thank you._

_Albus Dumbledore_

Hermione took a leisurely shower, indulging in the hot, needle-like spray. She got out and toweled dry, and put on a pair of black capri pants and a purple sweater. She didn't bother with her robes; she could care less about looking like the model student.

Hermione walked slowly to the headmaster's office, and stood outside the stone gargoyle. She had forgotten that she never got the password. She heard footsteps, and hoped it was a teacher that could help her.

Snape received Dumbledore's letter at about the same time that Hermione woke up. Wondering what the headmaster's request was all about, Snape quickly dressed and put a note on his office door-

**To whom it may concern:**

**I have an appointment with the headmaster, and will be back shortly,**

**-----Severus Snape**

Snape walked quickly to avoid having to talk to anyone, and when he reached the gargoyle, he was surprised to see none other than Hermione. She was consistently the best student in his classes, rivaling his own talents as a Potions Master, although he would never have told her that.

"Miss Granger, shouldn't you be in class, or do I need to take points for a student skipping class?" Snape was in his characteristically foul morning mood, since he had not yet had his coffee.

"No, sir, I have an appointment with the Headmaster, but I never received his password. Do you know it?" she asked with an optimistic tone.

"As a matter of fact, I also have an appointment with him, so I am sure he wouldn't mind if I were to let you in," said Snape, turning to the gargoyle. "Lemon Drop," he stated. _Well, _thought Hermione, _I should have known. _The door opened, and Snape gestured for Hermione to go ahead of him. "Thank you," she whispered timidly.


	2. Punishment

Chapter two:

"Ah, Severus, I'm glad that you found Miss Granger. How kind of you to help her in. It seems my memory is failing me, as I forgot to provide her with the new password." Dumbledore, in robes of translucent blue, matching his eyes perfectly, arose from his desk, and walked to Hermione's side. "How are you, my dear? I hope you slept well; you seemed quite . . . distressed last night when we found you." Dumbledore put his arm around her shoulders, and she began to smile slightly.

"Well, sir, as you say, I was very distressed last night, but things always seem better in the morning. How are you? Last time I was here, you were ill. Did Madam Pomfrey give you anything?" As she asked, she placed her hand gently on his forehead, feeling for a fever, Snape guessed. He watched the affectionate display between the two with a longing for a touch like that.

"Oh, yes, that Pepper-Up Potion will do wonders for an old man's health. And you, Severus, how are you feeling?" Dumbledore turned to Snape, and asked him the question with the same concern in his voice as he had shown to Hermione.

"I'm fine, Headmaster, but I do have papers to grade, so the sooner we can finish this, the better." Snape tapped his foot with annoyance in the breaking of his daily routine.

"Yes, of course, Severus. Actually, I asked you both here for the same reason. Miss Granger, while you are not in any trouble, we are aware that you created an illegal potion in your dormitory last night. Now, I am sure you understand the consequences of creating a potion without care. Would I be correct in that assumption?" Dumbledore sat in a cushy armchair that had appeared, and with it, two more also came. Hermione sank into the comfortable chair and whispered a humiliated "yes."

Snape was becoming more and more uneasy in the presence of the two, and finally said, "Albus, why exactly am I here?"

Dumbledore rose shakily and stood up to face Snape. "Ah, yes. Well, what I was going to say to Miss Granger was that if she wished to continue creating experimental potions, then I would prefer she was supervised by a professional."

Snape looked at Dumbledore, and argued his point- "But, Albus, you know as well as I do, it is dangerous to brew experimental potions outside of a lab and without assistance. What does that have to do with me?"

Dumbledore looked pointedly at Snape, and suddenly it dawned on him: Dumbledore meant him!

"Albus, I am an expert Potions Master; I will not be reduced to babysitting a willful child!" Snape whined. "Besides, what if she hurts one of us?"

"All the more reason for you to oversee her attempts, Severus." Dumbledore raised his hand, and Snape knew enough to stop there and accept his fate. A small whimper was overheard by both of the men, and Snape realized that he had nearly forgotten that Hermione was there. Seeing the humiliated look on her face was enough to make him agree.

"Fine, Albus, I will supervise her, but she must follow my direction or face losing this privilege. Is that understood?" Snape addressed the question to both of the others in the room. All of the faces in the portraits located on the walls of Dumbledore's office began to nod their heads emphatically.

"Very well, Severus. When should Miss Granger come to your classroom for her first try?" Dumbledore looked, Snape thought to himself, remarkably like a young puppy when he tilted his head to the side, just like he was doing then.

"Miss Granger, if 7'o'clock is agreeable with your schedule, I will expect to see you then, hopefully in student robes." Snape added the last bit with an added bite to his voice as he walked out of Dumbledore's office.


	3. The Accident

Chapter three: The Accident

Hermione made sure to put on her school robes the next night, for fear that Snape would take points off if she didn't. Looking at the clock, she realized that she would be late if she didn't run (which was also against the rules posted by Filch). She decided to take her chances with Filch and Mrs. Norris, and ran down the main stairs and into the dungeons. She knocked on the door of Snape's classroom and heard his voice murmur an unconscious "come in."

She slowly opened the door, and suddenly found herself staring at the rear view of the most hated professor in the whole school. Not that it was necessarily a bad view, of course, but she was amazed to find herself "checking him out," as Lavender and Pavarti called it.

He, apparently, had suddenly realized that someone had come in, and whipped around, shocked to find Hermione staring at the place where his bum had been only second before.

"Ahem, Miss Granger, is there something I can help you with?"

"I . . . uh, I'm here for my Experimental Potions class with you, sir," she stammered. _Good Merlin, I hope he doesn't notice I'm blushing!_ she thought. "Should I come back later? I thought you said seven o'clock tonight, but I can go . . ." Trailing off, she reached back for the doorknob, hoping that he would tell her to go so she could go crawl under a rock somewhere and die of embarrassment.

Snape studied her face, and when her eyes finally met his, he mouth twisted into his characteristic smirk and said, "No, Miss Granger, let's begin. As much as it pains me to say this, I was actually looking forward to this- I haven't had a student worthy of Creative Potions in quite a few years, if ever. Go to that far cabinet-" he said, directing her to the one he wanted, "No, the one on the far left, yes, that's the one. Grab three ingredients that _speak_ to you and bring them over here." And with that, he turned back to his own cauldron.

Hermione followed his directions to the cabinet and was amazed to see thousands of tiny bottles, vials, and boxes. All but the bottom shelf had small pieces of parchment on them with their names, written in intricate swirls of gold and ivory. Delicately, so as not to break the tiny containers, she chose one from the bottom shelf: no label, but the matter inside was a deep purple that weaved in and out of a large piece of ebony rock. She looked, and decided upon a small jar with a label that said "Asphodel" in beautiful gold and green script. _Hmm, one more, but which one should I choose?_ she wondered. She finally selected a tiny spherical vial filled with glittering ivory and silver dust, however, no label. She gathered up her choices, and carefully carried them back to Snape.

"Aha, Miss Granger, now, before I tell you what the resulting combinations of these three ingredients are, I want you to explain why you chose them to me." Snape's eyes seemed to sparkle, and for a moment, Hermione thought perhaps he and Dumbledore were related. Snape leaned over his desk, watching Hermione look down at the vials with visible apprehension, wondering what she would say.

"Well, I haven't been sleeping well lately, and I remembered that in your first year speech, you ask about the combination of powdered root of asphodel and infusion of wormwood- it makes a very powerful sleeping potion." Hermione finished this pronouncement with a flourish of her hands, something like a curtsy, but with her fingers instead of her body, as if she was holding a wand. Her cheeks flushed, and she began to giggle, thinking she was making a total fool of herself.

Severus Snape found it entrancing.

Clearing his throat, and hoping she wouldn't notice he was staring, he waved his hand for her to continue.

She looked at him carefully, and wondered what he was thinking about, but then went on with her explanations. "Purple is my favorite color, and that's pretty much why I picked this one."

"But, Miss Granger, there are hundreds, no, thousands of shades of purple in that cabinet, why this one? Clearly, there is something more than a color preference at work here. What is it?" Snape asked, honestly curious to know.

_Because it reminded me of you_ was the thought that nearly escaped her lips, but she caught it at the last moment. "In any case, I like purple, and my view is the darker the better. Dark colors are my favorite colors." Unaware of it, Hermione was beginning to flirt with her snarky potions professor. There was, however, one person _very_ aware of it -Severus.

"Miss Granger, why did you pick this last one? I can understand the appeal of an attribute of a sleeping potion, and I additionally understand the association between this other one and your favorite color, but this last one puzzles me a little. Please explain it to me, if you would." Now, Severus moved to a stool directly in front of Hermione and sat down. She had to look up to look him in the eyes, and when she did, her throat worked furiously to swallow.

"It seemed like something you would want."

Her eyes fell to her hands and she began cracking her knuckles, a nervous habit of hers. Severus watched her for a moment, but when he saw a tear fall to her lap, he could be still no more. With hardly any hesitation, he reached for her hands with one hand, and lifted her chin with the other. She resisted only for a moment, and then looked at him, her eyes brimming with uncried tears. He wiped them away with his thumb, and she leaned into his palm, loving the feeling of complete and utter serenity that filled her. Severus watched her expression, and then asked her a question that had bothered him since the silent exchange had begun.

"Miss Gran-- Hermione, why are you crying?" Hermione's eyes connected with his, and suddenly pulled away from his touch.

"I'm sorry sir, but I think maybe I should be going. Perhaps Creative Potions is not for me." She got up, and backed into the table behind her. The jar of asphodel fell to the ground, shattering the jar and its contents. Hermione, trying to help, picked up a piece of the glass that was covered in the herb, and as she felt its sharp point digging into her hand, she heard Snape yelling for help, and then . . . nothing. Mercifully, she passed into a gray fog before there was too much pain to bear.


	4. Fade to Black

Chapter four: Fade to Black

Hermione was unconscious for two weeks.

Harry and Ron were in the infirmary whenever they didn't have classes, with one exception- for two hours on both Saturdays and Sundays. Madam Pomfrey shooed them out, telling them that when Hermione awoke, didn't they think that she would feel better if she had some candy from Honeydukes and a few new books to read? Harry and Ron finally agreed that both of them needed a break from the constant sitting and doing nothing. However, there was one person who saw what went on at lunch during weekdays, and on those weekends.

Ginny Weasley came, and she observed: Monday through Friday, 12:00pm - 1:30 pm- Severus Snape came to Madam Pomfrey, under the pretense of bringing her Pepper-up Potion or Skelegrow. After a polite period of time had passed speaking to Madam Pomfrey, Snape came and sat next Hermione's bed. During the last fifteen minutes of his daily visits, he looked around cautiously, and then picked up her hand to hold it. When lunch was over, he left immediately, and returned the next day.

This piqued Ginny's interest, because she knew he talked to Hermione when he was there, so she "borrowed" Harry's Invisibility Cloak and sat on the other side of Hermione when Snape came on Saturday and Sunday. The details of those conversations are fairly inconsequential, and we need not concern ourselves with them, save this: the things Snape said were mostly things that people say to each other when they are deeply in love. Ginny, to say the very least, was astounded. When had this thing, whatever it was, happened between the two people she watched every day?

One thing Ginny failed to notice, however, was the small smile that appeared on Hermione's otherwise unmoving face when Snape was there.


	5. Back to the Beginning

Chapter five: Back to the Beginning

Despite Madam Pomfrey's adamant stance, Hermione was awake for a short period of time, remarkably, _every day._ This was when, as I'm sure you've guessed, Snape came each day. Although her hand was bandaged, she could still feel the tender touch of Snape's hand at the site of her cut.

When she awoke for good, Hermione stretched her arms out, and then called for the nurse. "Could I take a bath, Madam Pomfrey?"

Poppy Pomfrey dashed out of her office with a speed unseen by anyone else to find Hermione trying to get out of her bed. "No, no, no, my dear, you mustn't. I'm so glad you're awake, but you must wait for just a moment. If it is a bath you want, it is a bath you shall have, but you must be supervised. You've been out of it for two whole weeks, and I'm not anxious for you to drown. Let me get you a bathing suit, and we'll head for the prefects bathroom. That way, we can get you cleaned up fairly undisturbed. Let me tell the headmaster that you're awake; I'm sure he'll want to know."

Hermione understood her reasoning, and so, with a quiet "Accio Cards," she began the fairly drawn out process of answering her get-well cards. When Madam Pomfrey returned, Hermione said that she would rather get those done first, and take her bath later.

Snape turned the corner into the infirmary, and nearly fell over with shock when he saw Hermione sitting up and writing thank you cards to all those who had sent her something. She heard a movement and looked up. When she saw who it was, her heart stopped for a moment and she raised her hand to her throat. She gasped, and then began to try to sit up more, and tame her hair with her hands and generally make herself look like she hadn't been in the hospital for two weeks.

Snape rushed to her side, and sat down, saying, "You look fine, Miss Granger. How are you feeling?" Snape was shaking with effort to not hug her right there and then, consequences and reputation be damned.

"I'm all right, sir, but what happened?" Hermione's eyes watered, threatening to spill over. She was overcome with emotions, because she did truly remember what happened, but wanted to hear what he would say.

"Well, we were, ah, picking ingredients for your first experimental potion. You got up to go, and the bottle of asphodel tipped over and broke. I tried to stop you, but you picked up a piece of the glass and cut yourself. The asphodel entered your bloodstream and put you into a short coma." Snape watched her face, wanting to see if she knew he had left the most important part out.

Surprisingly, she lifted her chin to look him in the eyes. He was a bit surprised when she asked how she had gotten to the infirmary, instead of why she had been leaving. Snape didn't want to tell her, but felt that he should. "I carried you here."

Snape stood up, wiping his face with his hands, and softly said, "Goodbye," to Hermione. She watched him leave, then put her hands to her face and cried without making a sound.

Hermione spent a great deal of time that day thinking. Granted, she had many things to think about. For instance, why was Snape acting so differently than any other day? Why was he concerned about her? What had made him decide to take her on with Creative Potions? What would Ron and Harry think?

Oh, Ron and Harry. There was another thought. Would this change anything between them? She and Harry had been tentatively seeing each other after it became painfully clear that she and Ron were never destined to become anything more than just friends. An awkward fumble in a broom closet had ended shortly after it started, with both of them collapsing into full blown laughter. Although Ron and Hermione had always had a certain attraction for each other, they both understood that it was something that should never have been acted on. Harry understood the situation, and took his chance to ask Hermione to the next Hogsmeade weekend. She had accepted, they had gone book shopping, and the day had ended with a highly satisfactory (in the opinion of both parties) snog session in the rain.

Wait, why was she thinking about what Ron and Harry would think? She shook her head to try and rid herself of the thought. It wasn't as though Snape wanted to date her, just instruct her. Why would this be any different than an independent study she might take up with _any _professor?

Mulling over her thoughts, she answered her cards, took her bath, reveling in the sumptuousness of the prefect's bathroom, and fell asleep, looking forward to her last day in the hospital wing.

A/N: Ohh, my first author's note! It's heartwarming to see so many people interested in this story. It started out as a rampant plot bunny, and one day I started writing just to get it out onto paper (or screen, depending on your view). I did want to let you all know that unfortunately, my updates will become less frequent. My classes at university are starting to really become challenging, and while I want to do well, I refuse to give this story up. Updates will probably get down to about once a week on average, but don't hold me to it. I'm pretty sure I know where it's going to take us, but then, plot bunnies sometimes change direction, as I'm sure you all know.

Also, a big thanks to bassgoddes, cearrae27, Brittany Malfoy, anna maria, and Not Mad Mentally Unstable for being my first ever reviews! You are amazing!


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